I thoroughly approve of NPR's Village Vanguard series. I have directed a lot of attention to it on these pages. Tomorrow night (Wednesday, June 9th) Wayne Escoffery debuts at the Vanguard. I don't know this tenor player, except by his album Intuition. Another Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings recommendation. The album is kick ass, rich cloth bop. I downloaded it from eMusic partially on the PG recommendation, and also because of Jeremy Pelt plays his trumpet. I recently acquired a Pelt recording Men of Honor, which I really should post about. It's Pelt channeling Miles Davis.
Anyway, Intuition is a fine album. In addition to Escoffery and Pelt, Rick Germanson plays piano, Gerald Cannon bass, Rickey Peterson drums, and Carolyn Leonhart (Escoffery's wife) on vocal. Here is a sample:
Wayne Escoffery/The First One/Intuition
This number strikes me as an obvious tribute to another Wayne: Wayne Shorter. Both the tenor playing and the piano remind me of Shorter's great sixties recordings. Suddenly I feel all tingly.
I expect that Wednesday's concert will be available for download. It would be worth catching live. Escoffery seems to know what he is doing.
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